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LUNCH SESSIONS

Preparing for and Thriving in Graduate School

Tuesday, April 19th, 12:00 – 1:30pm

A member of Hunter’s faculty and panel of current and former graduate students from various disciplines and fields gave advice and talked about their graduate school experiences. Their tips and stories provided ideas about what to do now as an undergraduate student to best prepare for graduate school and how to choose and make the most of the graduate experience. Undergraduate students had the opportunity to socialize and meet with the graduate students in groups over lunch.

Speakers

Michael Steiper, Ph.D.

Professor of Anthropology, Hunter College

Michael Steiper is a physical anthropologist with research interests in primate molecular evolution.Professor Steiper directs the Anthropological Genetics Lab at Hunter College.His specific research interests have included the speed of the mutation rate among primates, molecular adaptation to pathogens, the phylogenetic relationships among primate species, and the correspondence between paleontological and molecular timescales for primate evolution.Professor Steiper received his B.A. from NYU and his Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Sasha Neha Ahuja

Social Work, Columbia University Alumna, Hunter Alumna

Sasha Neha Ahujais a social worker, community organizer and advocate from New York City. Galvanized by her father's work as a yellow taxi driver in post-9/11 New York, she got her start in progressive organizing at the NY Taxi Workers Alliance over a decade ago. Since then, Sasha has built her career anchoring racial and gender justice and facilitating community-driven policy change at organizations like the Urban Justice Center, Planned Parenthood of New York City, and the National Association of Social Workers. Currently she serves as Deputy Director of the Policy & Innovation Division, within the Speaker’s Office at the NYC Council. In this role, Sasha is supporting Council Members' work on shared priorities, such as a joint platform to curtail climate change, efforts to lift up low wage work and executing the largest participatory budgeting program in the nation. Sasha is also driving Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s Young Women’s Initiative, the first-in-the-nation initiative dedicated to young women and girls of color. Sasha is also an Adjunct Instructor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College and Touro Graduate School of Social Work where she teaches Social Policy and Power, Privilege & Oppression (respectively). In 2015, she was recognized as part of City & State’s Class of 2015 40 Under 40 New York City Rising Stars. Sasha holds a BA from Hunter College of the City University of New York (free CUNY!) and a MS in Social Work from Columbia University.

Bridgit Boulahanis

Earth & Environmental Science, Columbia University, Hunter Alumna

Bridgit Boulahanis is a Ph.D. student at Columbia University, where she was awarded a Dean’s Fellowship to study Marine Geophysics at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Bridgit’s research focuses on Mid-Ocean Ridge dynamics, submarine volcanic eruptions, and seismicity at spreading centers. Bridgit is a graduate of Hunter College (2014), where she earned a B.A. in Environmental Science with a minor in Mathematics.

Dayle Hodge

Biomedical Science, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Dayle Hodge is a student in the combined MD/PhD Program at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine located in Bronx, NY. Prior to matriculating at Albert Einstein, Dayle received his bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering (with a minor in French Language and Literature), a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, all from the University at Buffalo. Following graduation, Dayle worked as a biomedical engineer for NuVasive, Inc. (a biotechnology company in San Diego, CA that specializes in the design of minimally invasive orthopedic spine surgery). Currently, Dayle is conducting research for his PhD thesis, which focuses on the role of mammary stem cells in breast cancer pathogenesis.

Kelle Jacob

Marketing, Fashion Institute of Technology, Hunter Alumna

Kelle Jacob is the Global Marketing Manager of the Estee Edit by Estee Lauder. She has over five years of experience identifying new product and business opportunities and ensuring the companies relevancy with emerging consumer groups. Over the past year, Ms. Jacob has been a key stake holder in one of the company’s most entrepreneurial endeavors in recent time—the development of a new brand to target the Millennial consumer in partnership with Sephora. Ms. Jacob is also a founder and former Executive Co-Chair of The Estée Lauder Companies’ Millennial Employee Resource Group, GenNEXT, leading the group’s Innovation efforts. During her two year tenure she led a team of over 300 millennial employees to support business’s mission to engage the millennial consumer. Some of her initiatives included identifying partnerships with companies such as Google and Snapchat to developing new products by millennials for millennials. Prior to joining The Estée Lauder Companies, Ms. Jacob was the Founder and CEO of Oswald Cleveland Gallery, where she managed the global promotion of over 40 emerging and established young artists. She was also a contestant on Cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model. She holds a Bachelor of Arts with a concentration in Media Studies from Hunter College and a Master of Professional Studies in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management from the FIT. She sits on the Board of Trustees for the Hunter College Foundation.

Inna is a doctoral candidate at the Basic and Applied Social Psychology subprogram at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is currently a graduate research associate at the Hunter AIDS Research Team (HART) and her research interests surround the interaction between social identity and sexual health. More specifically, Inna utilizes mixed methodology in order to explore how societal factors influence our sexual identities and how these identities relate to the decisions we make about our sexual behavior. In addition to her research at HART, Inna works as an adjunct instructor in the psychology department at Hunter College.

Michael Turman

Clinical Psychology,Long Island University-Brooklyn, Hunter Alumnus

Michael is a doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at Long Island University-Brooklyn. He graduated magna cum laude from Hunter College with a B.A. in Psychology in 2014. At Hunter, Michael worked closely under Dr. Sarit Golub, on the Hunter AIDS Research Team. Michael's current research interests center on isolating and exploring mechanisms of acculturative stress in Latino immigrant populations. His clinical interests center around integrating continued discourse on acculturative stress and cultural competence within current psychodynamic and behavioral psychological treatment modalities. Michael recently received an Honorable Mention from the American Psychological Association's Minority Fellowship Program. Michael aspires to work with at-risk Latino populations to provide sensitive psychological care, conduct research to further the understanding of acculturative stress, and teach at the university level.

Tips for Pursuing Research Opportunities

Wednesday, April 20th, 12:00 – 1:30pm

A panel of two Hunter College faculty and two Hunter Alumni from across the disciplines provided tips about how to get involved in research and scholarship outside the classroom (e.g., how to approach faculty, how to find a mentor), etiquette as a student and evolving professional (e.g., preparing a curriculum vitae, requesting letters of recommendation), and how to identify and pursue graduate school and other opportunities outside of Hunter that will help students achieve their future goals.

Speakers

Dixie Goss, Ph.D.

Professor of Chemistry, Hunter College

Dixie J. Goss is a biophysicist/biochemist, educated in a one-room schoolhouse in rural Nebraska, Nebraska Wesleyan University, and the University of Nebraska. Her research has focused on the role of RNA structure in regulation of protein synthesis and protein interactions. She has over 100 publications and presentations and is funded by the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health. Currently, she is Professor and Gertrude Elion Endowed Scholar of Chemistry at Hunter College.

Regina Miranda, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology, Hunter College

Regina Mirandais a Professor of Psychology at Hunter College and a faculty member in the Doctoral Program in Health Psychology and Clinical Science at The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her research focuses on understanding cognitive risk for suicidal ideation and attempts among adolescents and emerging adults. Dr. Miranda is also Co-Director of the BP-ENDURE and RISE Programs, which prepare students from federally underrepresented backgrounds to succeed in Ph.D. programs in biomedical disciplines. Dr. Miranda completed her B.A. in Psychology at Yale University and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at New York University. She completed an NIMH T32 Post-doctoral Research Fellowship in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, from 2004 to 2005 before beginning her position at Hunter College in 2005.

Lisa Baker, M.A.

Ph.D. Candidate at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Hunter Alumna

Lisa Baker graduated from Hunter in 2012 with a double major in Religion and Biology, and is currently a Ph.D. Candidate at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY. Under the mentorship of Dr. David Sharp in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, she studies mechanisms of axon growth and is assessing the therapeutic potential of targeting a novel microtubule regulator to enhance nerve regeneration after injury. She became interested in a career in research at Hunter, working in the laboratory of Jesus Angulo and later in the laboratory of Jason Dictenberg. While at Hunter she also took advantage of an HHMI-Hunter College Fellowship to spend several summers working at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA, studying axonal transport in isolated squid axoplasm. Her combined research experiences during her undergraduate years inspired her to pursue a Ph.D. As a graduate student, she has received a predoctoral National Research Service Award fellowship as well as a graduate research fellowship from the Sexual Medicine Society of North America for her work on cavernous nerve regeneration.

Lavonne S. Hunter, M.S.

Science Educator & Non-Profit Director, Hunter Alumna

Lavonne Hunter earned a dual BA in Psychology and Special Honors Curriculum, and MS in Secondary Adolescent Education in Biological Sciences from Hunter College. Lavonne received her training as a biomedical research scholar in neurobiology through the Minority Access to Careers (MARC) program. After winning presentation awards and pursuing research projects at the Laboratory of Neurosciences in Baltimore, MD, and Columbia University, Lavonne served as the MARC Science Learning Coordinator coaching new MARC scholars, and teaching the fundamentals of biomedical research to undergraduates (SCI 200) at Hunter for two years before teaching adolescents. Celebrating her 12th year in the classroom, she currently teaches 6th Grade Science at CASA Middle School in the Bronx. Over the last five years, she has spearheaded various outreach events to showcase students as experts and provide science enrichment for parents. Known by her students as Coach Hunter, she manifests her passion for cognitive neuroscience through continuous study and application of the growth mindset model to advance students from learners to doers. Lavonne actively shares her work presenting workshops on student-led and place-based learning for the World Maker Faire, Alternative Education Resource Organization, and Math for America. She garners inspiration from the quote: “The problem with the US educational system is that it rewards students for answering questions they never asked.”